Ben from El Paso, TX
How would the contemporary history of the Green Bay Packers have been different had they selected Barry Sanders in the 1989 draft?
I love thought exercises like this because you could argue about them all day long and since there’s no way to validate them, there aren’t really any wrong answers. If Green Bay had taken Barry Sanders, the entire rest of the draft would have gone differently. Kansas City coveted Mandarich. Would they have taken him over Derrick Thomas? Would Detroit have just taken Mandarich and the rest of the draft been the same? The Packers took RB later in the draft. Would they have still taken him with a Sanders pick? If Sanders did what he did in Green Bay, would Wolf ever traded for Favre? As sad as it is that 4 out of the top 5 picks of the ’89 draft were HoF, a player like Sanders could have derailed the next 30 years of the franchise. I think for the most part, the Packers benefited from that particular stinger. What would the Packers be without having acquired Brett Favre and Reggie White?
Bob from Jamestown, ND
Is there a free-agent (or trade target) WR that you’d rather have than a draftee likely to be available at one of the Packers’ 4 spots in Rounds 1-2?
I covered some the free agent WR question in my recent article about the Packers’ current WR list. Unfortunately, given the current market for established receivers, I don’t think the Packers front office has the immediate desire to get entrenched in more cap hell or risk losing a potentially great haul on draft day, so I don’t see any blockbuster (or even midlevel) trades happening in the immediate future. I do see Brian Gutekunst using all those picks at his disposal to slide up and down the draft to target receivers (or other positions) at will.
Anonymous from Places Unknown
If you could interview any currently active player for the OO, whom would it be? Why? And what are the three main questions you would ask? P.S. What the OO needs is a Poetry Corner.
Provided I could get absolutely clear and honest answers, I’d say Aaron Rodgers. I think there is a lot more to him than maybe even he knows and his cat and mouse games with the media are a sad byproduct of the effects media have had on us all in recent years. I would ask him about his favorite childhood sports memory, what it feels like to have the unconscious connection with players like Jordy Nelson, and I would challenge him to a best of 3 rounds of standard cricket in any dive bar in eastern Wisconsin. What the OO needs now is another folk singer like I need a hole in my head.
Adam from Scroggins, United States
What, in your estimation, are the top 5 positions of need for the Packers heading into the next wave of free agency and the draft?
Both the offensive line and wide receiver rooms took hits when several players left in the early stages of free agency, so I have to start there. I know CB seems really solid with what is in place, but Green Bay has to face the reality that Jaire Alexander may leave after this season and quite often, a perceived position of strength can quickly become a position of need. Still, I’m going to lump CB/S together as a position twofer. Next, I’ll say EDGE as you can never have too many options at getting after the QB. I should probably end it with defensive linemen or tight ends, but I’m going to say running back. I love both Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, but the reality is RB have one of the shortest shelf lives of all position groups.
Ben from El Paso, TX
After the Green Bay Packers, which NFL franchise do you respect the most and why?
The answer is actually twofold and for different reasons. First, I will say the Bears, because even though many Packers fans hate our oldest rivals in bitter earnest, there’s no denying Green Bay wouldn’t have survived without Halas’ work to keep the Packers in the league. He was even involved in encouraging the hiring of Vince Lombardi. My other answer is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Few owners have done more for NFL football than the Rooney family. I admit I’m a little biased in that regard having had Peter Rooney as a professor when I studied abroad in Ireland.